Allotments 4 All

And a report of an oddity.  Something very rare that I have only seen once before.  We all know about the occasional inversed seed, but much rarer still is to find an inversed pod.  But with La Vignerone I found two of them.  All the other pods are normal, green with purple striping. We will have to see what the seeds are doing, but they may well be 'normal' and not inversed themselves. 

And a pepper, the traditional Hungarian sweet pepper Taltos.  My seed source was Hungarian descended US seed saver Sharon Vadas from Colorado.  They grew well in UK during an average cool and cloudy summer and also here.  Its main use is at the white stage for cooking and for salads, but the fruit will eventually turn red.

Reisetomate.  This is a very strange tomato indeed.  Cherry tomatoes are clustered together forming one beefsteak sized fruit.  When ready to eat, individual cherries can be pulled off, leaving the rest of the fruit intact and mess free.  'Reise' translates to journey in German and this is a mess free way to divide a fruit and enjoy.  My seeds were bought from RealSeeds.  https://www.facebook.com/reel/991035172800994

Two photos

Three more possibles for the seed circle.  When we came home, many of the pods of green bean Kentucky Blue had started drying down much quicker than they normally do in cool and damp English weather.  I have far more than are needed for my own seed saving.  Have now taken all beans off the plants to wait for a second flush of flowers and beans later in autumn.  This was one of my favourite beans in UK.  Kentucky Blue is an old cross between Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder, a pencil podded very long bean with up to 9 seeds per green pod and a great 'beany' flavour.  Very heavy bearing.  My original seeds were bought from Nicky's seeds.  In the extreme heat, the pods had been maturing quickly and had developed string too, normally they are practically stringless. 

Sorry no photo taken.  https://all-americaselections.org/product/bean-kentucky-blue/

Uneven watering doesn't help either.  Luckily it seems to go away after a while and tends to be an early fruit problem.  Did the eggshells help?  Or is the jury still out.

It was a very long standing invitation, which unfortunately circumstances did not permit me to take up at the time.  But such opportunities only come along once in a Blue Moon :) and we were so very happy that a meeting could finally happen.

On the way there in Northern Spain, orange smoke appeared and was getting thicker, eventually bits of ash landed on the windscreen and you could smell the wild fires.  The Jaca region just on the Spanish side of the Pyrennees was on fire.  Roads were closed with firemen guarding them waving big red flags and our phone alarm went off warning people to stay indoors and close all the windows.  Luckily the road over the Pyrenees to Francia was still open.

We were being made so welcome by Peanuts and hubby in their very unusual historic house.  We had a great chat and it was as if we had known each other for a very long time, which we had in a way of course.  Then it was time to see the garden.  Despite the heat and severe drought, the garden was immaculately kept with figs, feijoa, lemon trees and so much more.  How can you grow such beautiful lettuces in these conditions Peanuts? What is your secret?  And that kale was fabulous.  A big tomato bed of course in full bearing, butternut squash and these wonderfully strong stands of several varieties of beans.  Very healthy and strong looking with loads of beans.  A paradise of a garden.  Gosh it was so hot though.  With chatting the afternoon flew by and sady it was time to say good bye all too soon.  Fortified with a bag of delicious  cherry tomatoes and figs, we arrived back home last night very late.  What a wonderful meet up after such a long time.  Thank you for all your kindness Peanuts.  I hope it can happen again much sooner. 

Happy to have met some people through A4A in person. Sadly, lost one to cancer years ago...

Used to be a prolific poster here and on other hobby forums, then social media took over. Now, I find social media a bit unsocial, and not necessarily in the true spirit of things. Making an effort to post in hobby forums at least once a month.. a little bit of life breathed over them.

Good morning, Peanuts. Great to have your account. My partner and I have also had the pleasure of meeting up with Galina and her husband largely through A4A.

Although A4A is much less lively than it used to be, it has, though the years, brought a lot of benefit to a lot of people. Long may it continue.

I know this is a little off-topic, but it didn't seem to fit into any other discussion topic!
This afternoon, we had a wonderful visit by Galina and her husband, on the way back from northern Spain! This week, they'd left home in Germany and had driven all the way to near León, to see the eclipse in  perfect weather, apart from the heat. Realising that we lived more or less on a straight line between León and their home, Galina had contacted me to see if they could call in briefly, on their way. 
Here I should explain that Galina and I first came across each other in the days of Kitchengardens email group, certainly before 2006! Subsequently our contacts continued with Allotments4All.  But we have never met in these 20+ years!
We had such a very happy and fun visit, it was as if we'd known each other for years and years - but we have! It was a huge pleasure for our husbands to meet up too. 
I was proudly able to show Galina how well her North Carolina Long Speckled Greasy Cut-Short beans continue to grow on our veg patch and are treasured. 
Although we were all wilting in 38 degrees, we departed at the end full of smiles, happiness, and love.  Thank you Galina, and thank you Allotments4All.
Peanuts